Ohio kidnap accused told off by judge

A US man accused of holding three woman captive in his home for a decade has been told off repeatedly by a judge.

Appearing in court to plead not guilty to hundreds of new charges against him, Ariel Castro appeared dazed and struggled to keep his eyes open.

The former school bus driver was chastised by Judge Pamela Barker for failing to follow her instructions to raise his head and open his eyes, so he could show he was awake and understood the charges faced.

"Mr Castro you must look at me sir. Can you open your eyes please … Sir, please keep your eyes open so that I can make sure you are listening to me and understanding what I’m saying, OK," Judge Barker said.

Several times Castro opened his eyes, only to close them again moments later, much to the judge’s apparent frustration.

His lawyers declined to comment on Castro's strange behaviour.

Castro, 53, is charged with kidnapping, rape and a host of other crimes in connection with the saga that allegedly unfolded at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.

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He is also charged with aggravated murder for allegedly terminating the pregnancies of one of his victims by starving and beating her - a charge that can be punishable by death.

Castro was in court to enter a plea on the new 977-count indictment unveiled last week, updating the initial 329 charges which only covered the first four and a half years of the women's captivity.

His defence team have offered to change his plea to guilty if prosecutors take capital punishment off the table.

"We are looking forward to the resolution of this matter to spare the women of having to provide any of the details of these horrible events to the world at large," lawyer Craig Weintraub told reporters after the brief appearance.

"Either we're going to have a plea (deal) or we're going to trial on August 5."

The current indictment does not include the legal specifications that could lead to a death penalty case, but prosecutors said they "retain the right" to come back with a third indictment which does so.

"We're still in the process of reviewing whether or nor we're going to do that," Joseph Frolik, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told reporters.

Last week, the three women - Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23 - spoke publicly for the first time since their escape in May, thanking their supporters and asking for continued privacy to rebuild their lives in a YouTube video.

The stunning case came to light after Berry - who was kidnapped the day before her 17th birthday - managed to escape with her young daughter by calling out to a neighbour for help through a locked front door.

"I am getting stronger each day, and having my privacy has helped immensely," Berry said in the video.